Cons:

Throughout the relatively brief history of video games, franchises have come and gone, being popular one day and in the dustbin the next. There's one, however, that's undeniably stood the test of time: Star Wars. George Lucas' epic tale of Jedis and space dogfights first appeared in video game form in the early 1980s, and nearly every year since then has seen the release of at least one title set in that far, far away galaxy. You might be surprised to learn this (I certainly was), but the best-selling Star Wars game of all-time was released only last year. Star Wars Battlefront gave players the chance to take part in some of the series' biggest and best battles, and the game was so popular that LucasArts quickly began work on a sequel.

While that type of news is generally worrisome, hardcore fans will be happy to hear that Star Wars Battlefront II is far from a rush job. The game feature a ton of new features, resulting in one of the most satisfying Star Wars games of all-time. The additions begin in the single-player mode, where you'll be able to select from a few different modes. Galactic Conquest returns once again, and you'll have to battle it out with your foes to take over the universe, one planet at a time. After finishing a battle, you'll be awarded with bonus points that you can spend on everything from the ability to deploy autoturrets to boosting the power of your blasters.

The coolest part of the single-player game, however, is the all-new "Rise of the Empire" mode, which details the adventures of Darth Vader's personal Stormtrooper unit, the 501st Legion. While the other single-player mode features nothing but Conquest gametypes (in which you must capture enemy command posts while protecting your own), the new mode is full of objective-based missions. These run the gamut from collecting power cells to killing alien creatures, and they add a tremendous amount of needed variety to the game.

Another major addition is the ability to take the fight into space for some good old fashioned dogfighting. That's right, you can now hop into your trusty X-wing and attempt to shoot down the Empire's dreaded TIE Fighters (or, if you like playing the bad guy, take out Admiral Ackbar's cruiser). When these battles begin, you'll be standing in your ship's hangar, and you can either hop into the nearest starfighter or head deeper into the bowels of the ship to man the turrets. Of course, piloting a ship is a lot more fun that simply picking off your enemies from afar. Although the flying controls can be a bit tough to pick up, you'll have a blast once you've gotten the hang of it.